Wage Remediation Program update

January 02, 2023

The University has an update for the Wage Remediation Program. The University of Melbourne is this week processing back payments arising out of its ongoing review of staff entitlements under the 2013 and 2018 enterprise agreements. Back payments for current and former casual employees are the first tranche of payments being processed, as part of this comprehensive review. The University expects to conclude this remediation program over the coming months. For more information, visit the University’s Wage Remediation Program web page.

The University has an update for the Wage Remediation Program.

The University of Melbourne is this week processing back payments arising out of its ongoing review of staff entitlements under the 2013 and 2018 enterprise agreements. Back payments for current and former casual employees are the first tranche of payments being processed, as part of this comprehensive review.

Following the analysis of more than 3.2 million payslip records for casual employees over eight years, conducted by Deloitte, the University of Melbourne will pay approximately $22 million in total (including superannuation and interest) to 15,000 current and former casual employees. This means, the average payment is $1,476 (including superannuation and interest).

Findings of the review indicate the most common issues were incorrect payment for the casual minimum engagement period (59% of payments) and for weekend and public holiday overtime (29% of payments).

Current and past employees will be contacted directly where a back payment is to be made as an outcome of the review.

The University will not be asking anyone who has been overpaid to repay any money and will not reduce any back payment to offset any overpayments made to any individual.

The University has been making payments since 2021 in respect of practices that did not accord with our enterprise agreement.

Vice-Chancellor, Professor Duncan Maskell said: “We apologise to any past or present employees who have not been paid correctly for work they performed.

“We are committed to remediating these discrepancies and fully complying with our obligations.

“We remain committed to strengthening the University’s governance structures, systems and processes and this continues to be an area of focus for our institution.”

In 2021, the University centralised its Human Resources and Business Services function to support whole of University oversight and governance of our employment processes and obligations. A range of measures was introduced including mandatory training and instructions so that those involved in engaging and managing staff have a clear understanding of what is required to comply with the enterprise agreement.

The University is also implementing improved audit and monitoring processes to identify potential risk areas before payments are made as well as implementing a number of changes to its systems and processes for recording and payment of time and attendance. The University has also commenced a major enterprise resource planning (ERP) project that will include the implementation of a new payroll system. The University continues to monitor for any issues so that back payments can be made and necessary steps can be taken to ensure ongoing compliance.

This review is ongoing and additional tranches of payments will be made progressively. The University expects to conclude this remediation program over the coming months.

For more information, visit the University’s Wage Remediation Program web page.

The source of this news is from University of Melbourne